The world was still dim when the door burst open."Saul Weber!" a voice yelled. "What on earth happened here?!"Saul sat upright, hair sticking in every direction, eyes half open. "Wha—Noona?" he mumbled, still half asleep. Before he could even move, Katy stormed in. The room was a mess papers scattered, burned clothes thrown aside, and the floor dotted with dried blood. His bed looked like a crime scene."I leave you alone for one night," she snapped, "and you turn your room into a battlefield! Are you secretly wrestling mutant bears in here?"Saul rubbed his face. "Uh… no? Sorry.." he said.Katy stared at him, torn between panic and disbelief. "Is that supposed to be a joke right now? You were on the news! The university was attacked by a rogue mutant!" Her voice cracked slightly at the end. "Do you have any idea how terrified I was when I couldn't reach you?"That jolted him fully awake. "Wait, you saw that?""It was everywhere! The campus collapsed halfway! They said only a few survived!" she blurted out. Her eyes darted to the still visible blood on his bandages. "And you're just... napping through it like nothing happened?"Saul scratched the back of his head, trying to calm her down. "I mean, yeah, I might've screamed a little. Or a lot. Then I passed out.""Passed out?!" She threw her hands up. "Unbelievable."Trying to make her smile, he shrugged and said softly, "Well, you should see the other guy."Katy glared, but a small reluctant smile slipped through, the anger melting into relief. "I swear, you'll be the death of me, Saul."He grew quiet as she sat beside him, checking the half-wrapped bandage on his arm. "You're lucky you got out with this little," she muttered. "Monster like that, most never come home."That word 'monster' made his chest tighten. He wanted to tell her everything: the screen, the voice, the lightning. But then he remembered. Katy hated mutants. The memory of her broken voice from long ago echoed in his mind her parents killed when a mutant lost control during containment. He couldn't bring himself to see that look in her eyes again.So he lied."I don't really remember much," he said slowly. "I was scared. I hid. Next thing I knew, there was this huge noise, and the monster was dead. Maybe the government enforcers got there early?"Katy frowned. "Hmph. Those agents never get there early. Always late, always after people are already gone. And half the departments sit around writing reports while civilians die." She started pacing, ranting about the system, her frustration spilling out in waves. Saul listened quietly, grateful for the distraction.Eventually, the day slipped away. Evening came with the dim blue of the city lights leaking through their windows. Dinner was silent. The news droned faintly in the background, more briefings about containment policies, another promise of improvement. Empty words.Later that night, the two lay in their separate beds. Tuffy slept between them, snoring faintly. Katy's breathing was steady, almost peaceful. Saul stared at the ceiling. He whispered, "Open status." The blue screen appeared right before his eyes.
Player: Saul Weber
Strength: 0.1
Agility: 0.5
Intelligence: 10
Mana: 1
Charm: 1
Skill Points Available: 10
Skills:Super Regeneration (Level 1)Lightning Bolt (Level 1)He stared at the glowing numbers, unsure whether to laugh or panic. Everything looked like a game menu but it was his body on the line. He hovered his finger over the glowing numbers.Before he could choose, the doubt crept back in."Hey, Noona?" he asked quietly.From the other side of the room, her sleepy voice answered, "What?"
"What if…" He hesitated.
"What if I was a mutant?"
Her blanket rustled. The tone in the room shifted.
"Why do you ask that?" she said softly, no longer sleepy.
"Just… hypothetical.
What if?"There was silence. A long one. Then her voice came, calm.
"I don't know, Saul. I've seen what happens to them the good ones and the bad. But…" she paused, voice barely above a whisper, "you're the only one I have left. That wouldn't change. Nothing would."
The words hung in the air, neither spoke again. The room dimmed back into darkness.